Venezuela's Minister Varela: Afiuni's accounts are nothing but lies

"This lie, made up by Afiuni and her lawyer, aims at attacking INOF's inmates and workers," Venezuela's Minister of Penitentiary Services Iris Varela said when interviewed by state-owned radio station Alba Ciudad

Venezuela's Minister of Penitentiary Services Iris Varela rejected claims over the alleged sexual abuse against Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, who was held in prison at the National Institute for Female Guidance (INOF).

"All the story she has written, all the things she told her lawyer, are nothing but a bunch of lies (...) She dared to say that the president himself (Hugo Chávez) was fully aware of such abuses," the minister remarked in response to Afiuni's claims about having been raped during her stay in INOF.

Afiuni's accounts on what she went through in prison are described by journalist Francisco Olivares in his book: Afiuni, la presa del comandante (Afiuni: The Pray of the Commander).

"This lie, made up by Afiuni and her lawyer, aims at attacking INOF's inmates and workers," Varela said while being interviewed by state-owned radio station Alba Ciudad, AVN cited.

Since 2009, Judge Afiuni has been held in prison for releasing on probation entrepreneur Eligio Cedeño, who faced corruption charges.

Translated by Jhean Cabrera

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